Devil Rays I

A few days ago, my sister and I went to Lido beach to play in the waves. But the waves where very small, so we floated around on our surf boards and looked into the water. Just a few feet from us, a small group of devil rays swam past. Then another passed us and I got a good look at it. Devil rays look a lot like miniature manta rays. It was really neat.

Cleaning Up

Whenever I go to the beach, I pick up as mush trash as I can. Animals can get hurt on trash or mistake it for food. The photo was taken a few weeks ago when we took a short trip to the beach, and my mom suggested that I empty my trash in the trash can before we left

Crab Tracks

We found these tracks while coming in from a long day at the beach. We are pretty sure that they are crab tracks going in and out from its little home. We are not sure what species it is because it never came out of its hole.

Saving the Animals

Today, we decided to go to Venice beach again. So we packed up all of our shell collecting equipment (which meant that we brought shell bags, buckets, and sifters) and headed out to the beach. When we got there, there was a tide pool that might have been a mile long! A couple of my sisters and I went out to the ocean with a bucket to catch tiny fish that where swimming under the big clumps of seaweed. We were to release them after we kept them for a while. We found puffer fish, damsel like fish, and a whole lot of other fish. Then we went to the tide pool where we found a really neat octopus. We also found tons of conchs and hermit crabs. While my sisters checked the rest of the tide pool, I went to rescue the conchs and hermit crabs that where trapped in the tide pool.  I saw a lady walking by with a grocery bag bulging full of live snails, hermit crabs, and clams. My mom said that I should tell her that they were alive and ask if she planned to release them. So I walked up to her and asked her. I could not understand her that well, but I could make out something like that she was taking them to her children. I went back to my mom. I was very sad that the animals would be unnecessarily killed. So I rounded up my sisters that had the bucket and told them the story. Then I asked them to help me rescue the animals "On the double!" So everyone in my family went to help the animals except my youngest sister. She was busy with her new friends. Then one of my sisters went around asking other kids to help the stranded animals. Some of the animals we rescued were conchs, hermit crabs, sea squirts, clams, crabs, small fish, and even a sea horse. As we worked, we could tell that the tide pool was shrinking and was getting hotter. Most of the animals we were finding where not alive anymore. The water was too hot for the animals. We probably saved more than half of the animals, and as we worked, more people came to help. But sadly, I left my camera at home again.

Venice

A few days ago, I went to Venice beach with my family. As we set up our area, we saw something that had washed up on shore. It turned out to be a really neat marine animal called a nudibranch. We put it back in the water to safety. Then I went out for a walk with my sisters on the beach where we found lots more nudibranchs, stranded on the shore. We found black ones, brown ones, and little ones. The nudibranchs that we found where not the venomous kind. So we could pick them up safely. A neat fact about nudibranchs is that they produce a purple ink when they are threatened. We also saw a blue crab run across the beach into the water. We went swimming for a while, and we found a lot of fish. I did not have my camera with me so I could not take photos of the animals I saw that day. Next time, I will bring my camera.

Short Spined Sea Urchin

This is a short spined sea urchin that was found washed up on Lido beach. I found it on its back in a tide pool. I released him far from shore so he would not wash up again.

Homeschool Day at the MOTE

I have been participating in the MOTE homeschool  program.  Here are some of the highlights from the March program.

Weirdest fact: Lion's Mane Jellyfish can get as big as a car.

Grosses fact: Sea horses have no stomachs, so they have to eat often. Sometimes the process is so fast, their food comes out alive after they eat it.

Most helpful fact: If you get stung by a sea nettle, wash it with salt water and pick off the tentacles using tweezers. If it still hurts, wash it with vinegar.

Favorite Part: My favorite parts of that day were getting to go behind the scenes, visiting the touch tanks, and going into the estuary again.

Best Find: My best finds in the estuary were a tongue fish, a pipe fish, and a shrimp. Someone else’s best find was a big shrimp and a Sea Hare.